Google Testing "Record Calls" Feature Within Gmail

Google is slowly unlocking a new feature for Gmail that allows users to record voice calls directly out of their inbox.

Google is slowly unlocking a new feature for Gmail that allows users to record calls directly out of their inbox. That might sound a little strange at first, so bear with us.

Within Gmail, it's possible to link one's Google Voice VOiP service to one's Inbox by first enabling the company's Chat service on the left-hand side of Gmail's standard interface. From there, you simply have to click on the activated "Call Phone" link, which should pop up a pretty little dial pad in the lower-right hand corner of your screen.

This is your link to Google Voicewe're assuming you're already rocking an account. However, you might not have the plugin you need in order to actually make a Google Voice connection via your Gmail Inbox. If that's the case, the little dial pad will alert you to that fact and ask that you head on over to an alternate page to download and install the appropriate plugin. Do that.

One browser restart later and you're ready to head back to your Gmail inbox. Go through the same procedures as before, only you won't be seeing a "please download this plugin" message on your Google Voice dial pad. Dial a number now and you'll connect straight up to whoever it is you're trying to reach.

Now, provided your account has been deemed worthy of Google's latest feature (it hasn't rolled out to everyone yet), you'll see a tiny little red dot to the left of the microphone iconGoogle Voice's mute button. Click it, and you'll start recording your call. Once you're finished, the call will be saved online for you to access at your leisure.

If you don't have access to the aforementioned red button just yet, that's fine  you can still make the same kinds of recordings via Google Voice's normal interface. When you're on a call, simply hit "4" on your keypad and Google Voice will start recording everything that's being said. To note: This only works for calls you've received through your Google Voice number, not for outgoing calls you make.

David Murphy got his first real taste of technology journalism when he arrived at PC Magazine as an intern in 2005. A three-month gig turned to six months, six months turned to occasional freelance assignments, and he has since rejoined his tech-loving, mostly New York-based friends as one of PCMag.com's news contributors.
His rise to (self-described) fame in the world of tech journalism began during his stint as an associate editor at Maximum PC, where his love of cardboard-based PC construction and meetings put him in...
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